


I'd Rather Stay

by ShenanigansEnsue



Series: Shenanigans and Imagines [8]
Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Mild Angst, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 05:36:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11373654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShenanigansEnsue/pseuds/ShenanigansEnsue
Summary: Based a tumblr request.Sentence prompt:  "Those things you said yesterday...did you mean them."





	I'd Rather Stay

           “Pick a card.”

            You eyed Faraday with a knowing look.  “You’re drunk.”

            Faraday waved you off.  “I’m sober enough, just pick a card.”

            You covered your smile with an exasperated huff. You pulled a card out of the middle of the deck, careful not to show it to him. 

It was the Jack of Hearts.

            “Got it?” he asked.

            You nodded and placed the card back in the deck.

            He shuffled the cards with clumsy showmanship, making sure you were watching the whole time.

            “Right, and now…”

He pulled out a card, showing it to you.

            “Your card.”

            It was the three of hearts.

            You shook your head. “Nope.”

            He gave an exaggerated frowned and looked at the card. 

            “Really?”

            You couldn’t help, but roll your eyes at this.  He was a big fan of the false lead before the big reveal.

            Suddenly, his eyes shifted to something over your shoulder.

            “What’s that?”

            You played along, and glanced behind you as he moved forward.  He reached out and with a flick of his wrist, pulled a card from behind your ear.

            “Your card miss.”

            You held back a laugh, and shook your head.  “No luck today Faraday.”

            He actually frowned this time and looked at the card.  It was the Jack of Spades.

            “What was your card?”

            “Jack of Hearts.”

            He shuffled through the deck until he finally came across your card.  “Okay, I might be a little drunk.”

            “I’ll try not to hold that against yah.”

            He gave a good natured laugh and leaned back against his saddle.

            The pair of you were camped out, about a day’s ride from the next town.  You had been traveling together for about four months after you helped Faraday out of some trouble.

* * *

 

            You had been living in a small town, working as a cashier in a local supply shop.  It was the only way you could support yourself while keeping a semblance of respectability short of getting married. It wasn’t what you pictured when you had come to the west.  Stories of cowboys and adventure had filled your head with romantic notions of freedom, only for them to be dashed the moment you stepped off the train. 

It wasn’t a bad life.  You did have more freedom than you did back East, but you would be lying if you said you weren’t going a little stir crazy.

            Then, Joshua Faraday came into your life.

          You were making a delivery to the local saloon; just flour, eggs and other essentials for those who wanted a morning hangover cure.  You entered through the back to find no one to greet you. Surprised, you dropped the flour and eggs, and made your way through the back room, opening the door just behind the bar.

           To your shock, you saw two men facing each other.  The one with his back to you was a tall, red haired man with a tan hat.  The one facing the bar was slightly shorter, with black hair and thick mustache.  They were standing just a few paces from each other, their hands sitting lightly over their guns.

           The saloon owner, stood behind the counter watching the scene.  His hand went for his pistol behind the counter and he began to rise it to the red-haired man’s back. 

            On instinct, you grabbed one of the bottles and knocked him over the head before he could get a shot off.  The man facing you saw this and reached for his gun.  Before he could even clear leather, the red head shot him straight through the chest.

            It was utter chaos after that.

            Men came running down the stairs and started shooting at you and the stranger.  You grabbed the saloon owner’s dropped pistol and fired back.  You managed to get one in the leg and another in the shoulder as the stranger jumped behind the counter for cover.

Somewhere between the gun shots, yelling and cursing you got the stranger to follow you through the back and out of the saloon. You ran immediately to your horse, jumping on with ease before riding as fast as you could out of town.  The stranger was just behind you the entire way, giving you cover fire as you both rode off and out of sight.

            Once the town as all but a memory, the stranger introduced himself as Joshua Faraday.  The man who he was standing off against believed Faraday had cheated him out of a card game, and they were having a “gentlemen’s negotiation” when you had stumbled onto the scene.

            It was very clear to the both of you that neither of you could go back.  The men after Faraday would certainly shoot him on the spot and woman or not, there was no way you were getting out of it scot free.  You couldn’t help, but think God was somehow having a laugh at your expense.  You were the one who wanted adventure.

            You didn’t know if it was out of pity or opportunity, but Faraday offered for you to join him.  It would be a simple arrangement.  You would be able to travel with someone watching your back while he had someone who could diffuse a situation should the occasion arise.  Men were less likely to shoot at him if he had someone around they preserved as a lady.  You agreed to his terms and to the pleasant surprise of both of you, you made a good team.

* * *

 

            A cold wind ran up your spine, bringing you back to the present.

            “You sure we can’t make it tonight?” you asked, pulling your coat a little tighter.

            “Sensitive, aren’t we?”

            “I can rough it just as well as you can,” you defended. “Doesn’t mean I’ll turn down a warm bed if I’m offered it.”

            Faraday shook his head.  “We wouldn’t get there until sunrise.  Best wait it out here and give Jack and Josie time to rest.”

            “Alright, fine,” you said, resting your back against your own saddle as you looked up at the stars. There was a comfortable silence between you as the small fire crackled.  You looked over to Faraday to see him looking at you intently.

            “What?”

            Faraday looked away, running a hand through his hair.

            “Nothing,” he said easily.  “You should try and get some sleep.  We still got a while to go in the morning.”

            “What about you?”

            He shrugged.

            “I’m just gonna keep watch for a while.”

            “You sure?”

            He nodded, and you knew there was not arguing with him.

            You laid yourself down, using your saddle as a pillow and turned your back against the fire in an attempt to keep warm.  You closed your eyes and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

            Your ears picked up a small rustling, waking you up slowly, but before you could even open your eyes, you felt something warm being placed on top of you.  It was a large jacket that smelled oddly like Faraday.

            Your cheeks warmed, mentally putting together what was happening. 

            Instead of hearing his footsteps walk away, he sat himself right beside you.

            “What the hell are you doing Faraday,” he mumbled to himself.  “She’s got no business being out here.”

            You frowned at that, but made sure to keep your breaths steady so not to interrupt him.

            “You can’t always be having to look after her,” he continued.  There was a paused as you hear the small rustle of his hand running through his hair, followed by a small sigh.

            “Next town.  Next town, you gotta leave her.”

            You didn’t move.  Even after he got up and walked away, you could barely breath. 

            You didn’t know when exactly you started to like Faraday. He wasn’t an easy man to like by any means and often said things that would get him slapped or at worst, shot at, but you found yourself liking him all the same. Somewhere along the way his boyish charm, quick wit and odd sense of humor, got to you and wouldn’t let go.  You liked him. And thought of him wanting you gone after everything hurt you deeper than you though possible.

            His words ran through your mind over and over until once again, sleep took you.

* * *

 

            You woke up early the next morning, and started breakfast, careful not to wake Faraday.  It wasn’t until you had the bacon crackling did he open his eyes.  

            It was apparent immediately, he wanted to avoid you.  He didn’t so much as say good morning as he drank his coffee.  His usual jokes were absent as he ate.  The only time he spoke to you was when he said you had to pack up camp.  

            You picked up your things in silence, tucking away everything into your saddle bag as he packed his own the other side of the camp.  You wanted to say something, but the longer the silence persisted, the more you realized Faraday had already come to his decision. You picked up your saddle, struggling slightly under its weight. and walked it over to your horse. 

Faraday seemed to notice and walked over to you, silently reaching out to take it himself.  You pulled it out of his reach.

            “I got it,” you said sharply, throwing the saddle onto Josie’s back with ease.

            Faraday shot you a brief looked of surprise before going back to his grim neutrality he had been wearing all morning. 

You didn’t look at him as you secured the saddle.  There was no sarcastic remark, or even an apology, just more silence as he turned to walk away.  You couldn’t take it anymore.

            “Did you mean it?” you asked.

            Faraday barely made it a few paces before turning to look at you.

            “What?”

            You crossed your arms, fully facing him now.  

**“Those things you said yesterday…did you mean them?”**

           It didn’t take long for him to put two and two together.  He looked down at his boots as if ashamed before nodding. 

           “I’ve been considering it.”

           You kept your face as neutral as you could.  You would not allow this man to see you hurt. Not if you could help it.

           “Well you might as well leave me right here,” you said stiffly. “No use waiting on ceremony.”

           “I wasn’t going to ditch you without making sure you were settled first,” he said, calmly. 

           You glared at him, scoffing.

           “Look, if you want to ditch me because I’m slowing your down or you’re getting tired of me, just say so.  Don’t try to sugar coat it.”  

           “I’m not getting tired of you,” he said exasperatedly. “I’m just trying to do something right for once.”

           “How is leaving me behind the right thing to do?”

           “Because you’re a lady.”

           You rolled your eyes at that.

           “Yes, I’ve been aware of that for quite some time now.”

           “No I mean you’re a proper lady,” he emphasized.  It was clear he was trying to have a semblance of a reasonable conversation.  “You have no business hanging around with the likes of me.”

           “Last I checked it’s a free country, I can affiliate myself with whomever I want,” you said easily.

           Faraday ignored your comment.

           “I can’t always be looking out for you.”

           “I never asked you to,” you shot back bitterly. “ I was looking after myself well before you came along.”  

           He let out a frustrated groan. “That’s not the point.”

           “Then what is?”

           “You deserve better!”

           “Better than what?!” you snapped. “Having someone tell me what to do every second of the day?  Working in some shop until some man picks me up expecting me to have five kids?  Live and die in the same spot with nothing to show for it? I tried that already, I can’t do it.”

           He just shook his head.

           “God, you are a stupid woman.”

           “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

           “Do you think this is some kind of game?” There was something different in his tone now, desperate, pleading even. 

           “You stay with me it means spending more time on a horse then you do on the ground. It’s knowing every bar tender by their first name. It’s not knowing where your next meal is coming from. It’s running until we can’t run any longer just waiting for that bullet we won’t come back from.  I wouldn’t wish this life on anyone else, least of all someone I care about.”

           You stood in complete shock, processing exactly what he had just said.  The entire conversation coming rapidly into focus.

           “You what?” you asked quietly.

           Faraday faltered, looking away from you.  He obviously didn’t mean to say it, but it was out there now.

           “You heard me,” he said roughly.

           He cared about you. 

           The thought rang around in your mind as you stared at him. 

           “I happen to like you too you know,” you said, softly.

           He looked at you, not fully believing his ears.

           “And as chivalrous as your intentions may be,” you continued, “the simple fact is, it isn’t about what you think I deserve, it’s about what I want.  And I want to be here. I decided that long before you came along.”

           “Y/N…”

           You stopped him before he could protest further.

           “I know what it means,” you said plainly.  “I know what I’m giving up and I know what I’m getting.  You’re just going to have my own judgement on this.”

           Faraday looked at you intently, trying to catch any hint of doubt. 

           “The moment I can’t handle it anymore, I’ll tell you,” you promised. “But until then I’d rather us stick together if it’s all the same.”

           He still looked like he wanted to protest, but slowly a new understanding came across his features.

           “Well, I could never deny a lady anything,” he said, some humor finally entering his voice. “I guess that settles it then.”

           You nodded, suppressing a small smile.

           “I reckon it does.”

           You continued to stare at each other, as you both came to a new appreciation of the other.

           Slowly, Faraday crossed the small space between you until you were partially toe to toe.   He looked down at you, his eyes shifting between your eyes and your lips in a silent question.  You smiled lightly, tilting your head up answering his question with a challenge.  He grinned at that.  With surprising tenderness, he took hold of your waist, and pulled you into a gentle kiss.  You smiled into the kiss, closing your eyes and savoring the feeling and you wrapped your arms around his neck.  His lips were naturally rough, but his touch remained light and playful as he shifted between smiling, kissing and nipping your lips.

           You gently pulled at his lips as your hands curled into his hair pulling him down into a deeper kiss, which he obliged.  He bent down, shifting his hands so his arms were wrapped around your thighs.  Before you could even react, he picked you up into the air breaking the kiss.

           You let out a small yelp of surprise, keeping your hands on his shoulders for balance.

           “Faraday!”

           He just laughed, placing you on your horse, and looking all the round a little too pleased with himself.   You got your balance quickly, unable to hold back your own laughter.

           “You’re an idiot Joshua Faraday,” you said.

           He gave a shrug and cocky smirk.

           “Yeah, well, too bad you’re stuck with me now.”

            You smiled at that.  You were stuck with him and for the life of you, you couldn’t find any problem with that.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! If you like this check out my tumblr blog @ https://shenanigans-and-imagines.tumblr.com/
> 
> REQUEST ARE OPEN!!!
> 
> Please leave a kudos and a comment if you're so inclined. Seriously, comments are like drugs to writers.


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